Do You Shutterfly?
Well I do, and I have for a few years now. If you have not used Shutterfly in the past then now is the perfect time to try them out with their 2010 50 Free Holiday Cards promotion.
I have used Shutterfly to create wonderful photo book gifts for the grandparents at Christmas, and have loved the outcome every time; not to mention the great price. We also use the photo books to capture the past year for our family; which now has a new addition.
This year I would like to try either their greeting cards (which you can see here), their photo Christmas cards (which you can see here), or their baby announcements (which you can see here).
My absolute favorite greeting card designs are the simple yet classy styles like Shutterfly's "Most Wonderful Story", "Snow Flurries Cocoa", "Retro Christmas" and "Starlight Joy." Or, if I was going to go with a baby announcement I might choose one of these Shutterfly designs: "Triple Play Blue", "Scripted Name" or "Welcome Billet Blue".
Why is this so exciting to me, any why this year? Because this is a great way to not only wish family and friends a Merry Christmas, but we can also announce the birth of our new 3-week old son. Take a moment and check out the above links; I know you will not be disappointed.
Merry Christmas and Happy Shutterflying from my family to yours!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Micah Wayman's Birth Story
Note: I will be posting some pictures in this blog. Nothing too revealing, but you may consider them a bit graphic; so think about it before reading on. Oh, and this is a birth story so you never know what I might type!
I suppose with this story I should begin at the beginning. Wayne and I had been talking about trying for baby #2 in maybe October or November of 2010, but God had other plans. Just before Mackenzie's 2nd birthday I was put on antibiotics for this crazy 'thing' on my hand.
During the 2nd round of antibiotics and topical creams I got this funny feeling that I might be pregnant. So the day before Mackenzie turned 2, March 3rd, I decided to take a pregnancy test...just in case. In my mind there was NO WAY we could possibly be pregnant, but since I had this 'feeling' and was on antibiotics I wanted to be careful. You guessed it, I took the test and it was a big, fat POSITIVE. I was pregnant!
I immediately panicked due to the meds I was on and called the doctor and the pharmacist. Both told me to discontinue all meds and everything should be fine, especially since I had not even missed my cycle yet and found out about the pregnancy early. Was that enough comfort for me, NO. I then called my midwife. She prayed with me and I felt better.
At this point Wayne was still in the dark about the pregnancy because he was at work. I wanted to think of a fun way to tell him the news, so I went and found some Christmas paper we have that reads, "Unto Us A Child Is Born, Unto Us A Son Is Given." At this time I obviously did not know the baby was a boy, but I had my suspicions that this one would be a son...especially since we already had a boy name chosen from my pregnancy with Mackenzie. I had, "I'm Pregnant" printed on this paper, I folded it up and taped it to my hubby's bathroom mirror. This is not strange for me because I love leaving notes on his mirror, so not a giveaway.
When Wayne got home I asked him if he had looked on his mirror. He said, "No." and proceeded into the bathroom to see what I had done this time. After about 5 minutes he still had not come out of the bathroom, so I went in there to see if he was alright. Of coarse, he looked at me with a shocked expression and said, "Are you joking? This is not what I expected when I came home from work today!" Needless to say, the shock wore off and the excitement kicked in pretty quickly.
The next day we went and celebrated a joint birthday for our sweet little girl and her cousin. Mackenzie turned 2, March 4, 2010.
Now let's skip ahead to September 2010. This pregnancy has been great. Minimal morning sickness compared to the AWFUL morning sickness I had with Mackenzie. Also, I tested negative for gestational diabetes and for Group Strep B. My weight gain (although a lot) was right on track, and everything with the baby looked great.
We even found out that the baby was indeed a boy!
During this entire pregnancy I had been having the usual Braxtion-Hicks contractions (I also had with Mackenzie), but they seemed to be getting more intense. At 34-weeks I informed my midwife that I had two rounds of contractions that felt like the real deal; one round lasting 24 hours and the other lasting about 8 hours. When she checked me I was 3cm dilated, 80% effaced, 0 Station and very stretchy. It was too early for baby to arrive, so she put me on 'restricted activity', and I also had to discontinue anything that made my Braxtion-Hicks more intense. By-the-way, restricted activity is difficult with a 2 year old...just thought you should know.
At almost 38 weeks I had my home visit. Even with the restricted activity I was now 6cm dilated, 80% or more effaced and station 1. I was removed from my restricted activity since it was only 2 days until 38 weeks. I just knew this was going to throw me into labor within the next few days, and I was right.
Three days later at 38 weeks and 1 day I had my first contraction at 7:30 in the morning. I wasn't sure if I was in labor or not considering all the other times I had contractions and they fizzled out. So I decided to take a shower and prayed that God would give me a secondary sign. After my shower I helped Wayne make up the bed for the birth 'just in case', then I want to blow dry my hair. Just when I was about to start drying my hair I felt fluid run down my leg and I ran to the bathroom...it was blood. I knew in my heart that this was the sign I prayed for, but Wayne was not too sure, and he had a 9:00 meeting. So I told him that if I was still feeling good when it was time for him to go to his meeting to go ahead and I would call him if there were any changes. I also called my midwife to give her a just-in-case heads up of what was going on.
Wayne left for his meeting around 8:30 and I got Mackenzie set up with breakfast and cartoons. I then got on the computer to time my contractions and call my mom for our morning chat. During my call to my mom I had 2 intense contractions and then one very STRONG, take you breath away contraction, they were about 2 minutes apart. After that third contraction my mom said she was leaving College Station and was on her way here. I called Wayne around 9:00 and told him to cancel his meeting and get home. Then I unlocked the front door and called my midwife.
After informing them that it was time and working through my contractions I got my 2-year old into the bedroom with me where I could lay down. I have no idea of what time it was then, or at any point from here on out until our baby was born. My daughter was taking pictures of me during what I would call transition. I was trying very hard to be peaceful and loving for her so she would not get scared or confused.
When the above picture was taken I had a lot of things going through my mind. I guessed it had been about 15 to 20 minutes since I had called everyone and gotten into the bedroom and I wondered if they would ever get there. I also felt like I was 10 cm dilated and really wanted to push and go ahead and have that baby by myself, but I didn't want to do that with just Mackenzie there and I didn't want to swell by pushing if I was not at a 10. I was literally thinking and telling God at the same time, "If someone does not walk through that door in the next 2 minutes I am going to cry." God knew the timing and my threshold before I did, and literally right when I thought that I heard Wayne and my backup Midwife walk in the front door. They were calm and very quietly chatting when they made their way back to the bedroom I was in. I immediately informed the backup midwife that I felt like I needed to push, that my back hurt and that I need to go pee. She told me to go to the bathroom while she would run some hot bath water for my back and then she would check me to see if I could push, but not to push until I had been checked. So, I went to the bathroom then got into the bath water. The water felt GREAT! Mackenzie got involved by rubbing my belly with the prongs of her toddler fork. So funny, but what goes through a toddler's mind? .Just minutes later my midwife arrived and asked if I had felt like pushing...YES! She checked me and I was 10 cm and complete...time to push.
Oh, Thank God! I had been holding back pushing for what felt like 30 minutes already. During the first push she told me that I had a bulging bag of waters and then it either broke or she broke it for me. During the next three pushes I felt like my back was being ripped in two and I did everything I was not suppose to do. I talked during my contractions and pushes saying things like, "Ow, owww oww. This hurts. I feel like I am going to have a bowl movement. I feel like I am going to have the biggest the poo in the world. This really hurts." Unlike Mackenzie's birth where I couldn't feel the baby moving down and the contractions didn't really hurt; I could feel everything this time. I could feel the baby's head, and yes, the contractions did hurt. On the fourth push my baby's head was born. There was no cord around the neck, so during the same contraction I was able to push out his body and he was handed to me. Micah Wayman Sherwood was born 20 minutes after my midwife arrived, 2 hours and 16 minutes after my first contraction, and after only 4 pushes. He was born in the water and laid on my chest for a few moments before he took his own first breath. The first thing I told him after, "I love you", "You are so sweet" was "Thank you for coming out...that really hurt." My first thought when I laid eyes on him was that he looked just like my dad; and my backup midwife said it out loud right after I thought it!
We double checked to make sure he was still a boy, and he was/is.
Micah Wayman
Born: October 26, 2010 at 9:46 am
I suppose with this story I should begin at the beginning. Wayne and I had been talking about trying for baby #2 in maybe October or November of 2010, but God had other plans. Just before Mackenzie's 2nd birthday I was put on antibiotics for this crazy 'thing' on my hand.
(Picture of 'thing' on my hand. Turned out to be contact dermatitis.)
During the 2nd round of antibiotics and topical creams I got this funny feeling that I might be pregnant. So the day before Mackenzie turned 2, March 3rd, I decided to take a pregnancy test...just in case. In my mind there was NO WAY we could possibly be pregnant, but since I had this 'feeling' and was on antibiotics I wanted to be careful. You guessed it, I took the test and it was a big, fat POSITIVE. I was pregnant!
I immediately panicked due to the meds I was on and called the doctor and the pharmacist. Both told me to discontinue all meds and everything should be fine, especially since I had not even missed my cycle yet and found out about the pregnancy early. Was that enough comfort for me, NO. I then called my midwife. She prayed with me and I felt better.
At this point Wayne was still in the dark about the pregnancy because he was at work. I wanted to think of a fun way to tell him the news, so I went and found some Christmas paper we have that reads, "Unto Us A Child Is Born, Unto Us A Son Is Given." At this time I obviously did not know the baby was a boy, but I had my suspicions that this one would be a son...especially since we already had a boy name chosen from my pregnancy with Mackenzie. I had, "I'm Pregnant" printed on this paper, I folded it up and taped it to my hubby's bathroom mirror. This is not strange for me because I love leaving notes on his mirror, so not a giveaway.
When Wayne got home I asked him if he had looked on his mirror. He said, "No." and proceeded into the bathroom to see what I had done this time. After about 5 minutes he still had not come out of the bathroom, so I went in there to see if he was alright. Of coarse, he looked at me with a shocked expression and said, "Are you joking? This is not what I expected when I came home from work today!" Needless to say, the shock wore off and the excitement kicked in pretty quickly.
The next day we went and celebrated a joint birthday for our sweet little girl and her cousin. Mackenzie turned 2, March 4, 2010.
How Old?
Now let's skip ahead to September 2010. This pregnancy has been great. Minimal morning sickness compared to the AWFUL morning sickness I had with Mackenzie. Also, I tested negative for gestational diabetes and for Group Strep B. My weight gain (although a lot) was right on track, and everything with the baby looked great.
We even found out that the baby was indeed a boy!
Face Shot
It's A Boy
During this entire pregnancy I had been having the usual Braxtion-Hicks contractions (I also had with Mackenzie), but they seemed to be getting more intense. At 34-weeks I informed my midwife that I had two rounds of contractions that felt like the real deal; one round lasting 24 hours and the other lasting about 8 hours. When she checked me I was 3cm dilated, 80% effaced, 0 Station and very stretchy. It was too early for baby to arrive, so she put me on 'restricted activity', and I also had to discontinue anything that made my Braxtion-Hicks more intense. By-the-way, restricted activity is difficult with a 2 year old...just thought you should know.
At almost 38 weeks I had my home visit. Even with the restricted activity I was now 6cm dilated, 80% or more effaced and station 1. I was removed from my restricted activity since it was only 2 days until 38 weeks. I just knew this was going to throw me into labor within the next few days, and I was right.
Three days later at 38 weeks and 1 day I had my first contraction at 7:30 in the morning. I wasn't sure if I was in labor or not considering all the other times I had contractions and they fizzled out. So I decided to take a shower and prayed that God would give me a secondary sign. After my shower I helped Wayne make up the bed for the birth 'just in case', then I want to blow dry my hair. Just when I was about to start drying my hair I felt fluid run down my leg and I ran to the bathroom...it was blood. I knew in my heart that this was the sign I prayed for, but Wayne was not too sure, and he had a 9:00 meeting. So I told him that if I was still feeling good when it was time for him to go to his meeting to go ahead and I would call him if there were any changes. I also called my midwife to give her a just-in-case heads up of what was going on.
Wayne left for his meeting around 8:30 and I got Mackenzie set up with breakfast and cartoons. I then got on the computer to time my contractions and call my mom for our morning chat. During my call to my mom I had 2 intense contractions and then one very STRONG, take you breath away contraction, they were about 2 minutes apart. After that third contraction my mom said she was leaving College Station and was on her way here. I called Wayne around 9:00 and told him to cancel his meeting and get home. Then I unlocked the front door and called my midwife.
After informing them that it was time and working through my contractions I got my 2-year old into the bedroom with me where I could lay down. I have no idea of what time it was then, or at any point from here on out until our baby was born. My daughter was taking pictures of me during what I would call transition. I was trying very hard to be peaceful and loving for her so she would not get scared or confused.
Picture Mackenzie took during Transition
When the above picture was taken I had a lot of things going through my mind. I guessed it had been about 15 to 20 minutes since I had called everyone and gotten into the bedroom and I wondered if they would ever get there. I also felt like I was 10 cm dilated and really wanted to push and go ahead and have that baby by myself, but I didn't want to do that with just Mackenzie there and I didn't want to swell by pushing if I was not at a 10. I was literally thinking and telling God at the same time, "If someone does not walk through that door in the next 2 minutes I am going to cry." God knew the timing and my threshold before I did, and literally right when I thought that I heard Wayne and my backup Midwife walk in the front door. They were calm and very quietly chatting when they made their way back to the bedroom I was in. I immediately informed the backup midwife that I felt like I needed to push, that my back hurt and that I need to go pee. She told me to go to the bathroom while she would run some hot bath water for my back and then she would check me to see if I could push, but not to push until I had been checked. So, I went to the bathroom then got into the bath water. The water felt GREAT! Mackenzie got involved by rubbing my belly with the prongs of her toddler fork. So funny, but what goes through a toddler's mind? .Just minutes later my midwife arrived and asked if I had felt like pushing...YES! She checked me and I was 10 cm and complete...time to push.
Oh, Thank God! I had been holding back pushing for what felt like 30 minutes already. During the first push she told me that I had a bulging bag of waters and then it either broke or she broke it for me. During the next three pushes I felt like my back was being ripped in two and I did everything I was not suppose to do. I talked during my contractions and pushes saying things like, "Ow, owww oww. This hurts. I feel like I am going to have a bowl movement. I feel like I am going to have the biggest the poo in the world. This really hurts." Unlike Mackenzie's birth where I couldn't feel the baby moving down and the contractions didn't really hurt; I could feel everything this time. I could feel the baby's head, and yes, the contractions did hurt. On the fourth push my baby's head was born. There was no cord around the neck, so during the same contraction I was able to push out his body and he was handed to me. Micah Wayman Sherwood was born 20 minutes after my midwife arrived, 2 hours and 16 minutes after my first contraction, and after only 4 pushes. He was born in the water and laid on my chest for a few moments before he took his own first breath. The first thing I told him after, "I love you", "You are so sweet" was "Thank you for coming out...that really hurt." My first thought when I laid eyes on him was that he looked just like my dad; and my backup midwife said it out loud right after I thought it!
We double checked to make sure he was still a boy, and he was/is.
Micah Wayman
Born: October 26, 2010 at 9:46 am
7 pounds, 14 ounces, 20 inches long
Me 3 days before Micah was born
Micah in herbal bath just after birth
Proud sister
Sister and Brother
My Life Is A Sitcom
Now that Micah is 3-weeks old I can look back on the past 3-weeks and see that my life has become a series of short, funny, sitcom moments.
I suppose the very first moment was actually during my labor with Micah. Mackenzie and I were home alone (Mackenzie is 2.5 years old), and she was taking pictures of me during the difficult stage of transition. It didn't end there though. When I was in the water and getting ready to push, Mackenzie got out her new toddler fork and proceeded to rub my belly with the prongs. It did not bother me, but seriously? Don't get me wrong, I loved having Mackenzie at the birth. Actually, I think she kept me focused and grounded; not to mention feeling loved.
The most recent sitcom type moment was last night. For two hours Wayne and I kept trying to go to sleep, but one of the kids kept interrupting. First of all, Micah went through 6 poop diapers in that time, but before he would poop he would spit up (outfit change), and after he would get cleaned off he would want to eat because he had spit up all his food. 6 TIMES! Good thing he is such a good baby :) But since we use cloth diapers and only have 8 of them for Micah we had to go do laundry since he just used 6 diapers and was wearing number 7. We know he uses one in the middle of the night and one first thing in the morning. And if that wasn't enough, Mackenzie kept needing Daddy. First she wanted milk, then she was cold, then she wanted to get 'snuggly', then more milk.
So add: 1 load of laundry + 2 milk runs + 1 extra blanket + 1 snugly + 6 diaper changes + 6 spit ups + 6 feedings all in 2 hours = 23 separate things!
Wayne's comment to all of this was, "Why do I even try to go to bed?"
Hey Daddy, we have 2 kids that mostly sleep through the night and this was hopefully a one time thing, and only lasted 2 hours. Try staying home with them all day and see what type of sitcom moments take place.
Anyway, I ended up laughing out loud more than once last night, and when we all finally went to sleep at Midnight we slept pretty good, so no complaints; but couldn't you see that scene in a movie or something?
I suppose the very first moment was actually during my labor with Micah. Mackenzie and I were home alone (Mackenzie is 2.5 years old), and she was taking pictures of me during the difficult stage of transition. It didn't end there though. When I was in the water and getting ready to push, Mackenzie got out her new toddler fork and proceeded to rub my belly with the prongs. It did not bother me, but seriously? Don't get me wrong, I loved having Mackenzie at the birth. Actually, I think she kept me focused and grounded; not to mention feeling loved.
(Picture of me taken by Mackenzie during transition. I was thinking, "If someone does not walk through that door in 2 minutes I am going to cry." Wayne and my backup Midwife walked in :)
The most recent sitcom type moment was last night. For two hours Wayne and I kept trying to go to sleep, but one of the kids kept interrupting. First of all, Micah went through 6 poop diapers in that time, but before he would poop he would spit up (outfit change), and after he would get cleaned off he would want to eat because he had spit up all his food. 6 TIMES! Good thing he is such a good baby :) But since we use cloth diapers and only have 8 of them for Micah we had to go do laundry since he just used 6 diapers and was wearing number 7. We know he uses one in the middle of the night and one first thing in the morning. And if that wasn't enough, Mackenzie kept needing Daddy. First she wanted milk, then she was cold, then she wanted to get 'snuggly', then more milk.
So add: 1 load of laundry + 2 milk runs + 1 extra blanket + 1 snugly + 6 diaper changes + 6 spit ups + 6 feedings all in 2 hours = 23 separate things!
Wayne's comment to all of this was, "Why do I even try to go to bed?"
Hey Daddy, we have 2 kids that mostly sleep through the night and this was hopefully a one time thing, and only lasted 2 hours. Try staying home with them all day and see what type of sitcom moments take place.
Anyway, I ended up laughing out loud more than once last night, and when we all finally went to sleep at Midnight we slept pretty good, so no complaints; but couldn't you see that scene in a movie or something?
Monday, November 15, 2010
Micah Wayman
Sorry for the lack of post since the birth, but Micah Wayman is here!
Born October 26, 2010
7 pounds, 14 ounces
20 inches long
His sister, Mackenzie, was also 7 pounds, 14 ounces when she was born, but she was 20.5 inches long. She was also a due date baby, but Micah was born almost 2 full weeks early. If he had waited until his due date he would have been between 8 and a half and 9 pounds, and who knows how long.
The first moment I laid eyes on him I thought he looked just like my dad, so Wayman for the middle name is very appropriate. I won't give too many birth details in this blog because I plan on writing out my birth story and posting it soon, but for those of you that crave information I will tell you that I had a water birth at home with my husband, midwife and midwife backup...the assistant didn't make it until just after the birth. My total labor was 2 hours and 16 minutes from first contraction until I was holding my precious baby boy. My midwife was only there for the last 20 minutes and it all took a total of about 4 pushes. Everyone was happy and healthy. OK, so that is going to have to hold you over until I type out the official birth story.
Here are some pictures. Enjoy!
Born October 26, 2010
7 pounds, 14 ounces
20 inches long
His sister, Mackenzie, was also 7 pounds, 14 ounces when she was born, but she was 20.5 inches long. She was also a due date baby, but Micah was born almost 2 full weeks early. If he had waited until his due date he would have been between 8 and a half and 9 pounds, and who knows how long.
The first moment I laid eyes on him I thought he looked just like my dad, so Wayman for the middle name is very appropriate. I won't give too many birth details in this blog because I plan on writing out my birth story and posting it soon, but for those of you that crave information I will tell you that I had a water birth at home with my husband, midwife and midwife backup...the assistant didn't make it until just after the birth. My total labor was 2 hours and 16 minutes from first contraction until I was holding my precious baby boy. My midwife was only there for the last 20 minutes and it all took a total of about 4 pushes. Everyone was happy and healthy. OK, so that is going to have to hold you over until I type out the official birth story.
Here are some pictures. Enjoy!
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